Toward an Envelope of Design Solutions for Combined/Intensified Reaction/Separation Systems

Abstract

In this work, we develop an envelope of design solutions for combined intensified reaction/separation systems. The attainable region-based continuous flow stirred tank reactor equivalence principle is applied to characterize design boundaries for a given chemistry independent of process design. The thermodynamic-based Generalized Modular Representation Framework is then employed to generate candidate process alternatives along the design boundaries. The proposed approach is showcased via a case study on olefin metathesis. We also highlight the need to incorporate the attainable region-based constraints into synthesis strategies to assist effective bounding of design/intensification space.

A process intensification synthesis framework for the design of extractive separation systems with material selection

“…[21] Moreover, it has been shown that by intensifying the mass transfer performance towards the "ultimate" thermodynamic bounds via the driving force constraints, significant reduction in reactive volume and energy consumption can be achieved. [22] For a pure separation system which is of focus in the current work, the driving force constraints formulation is described by Equations ( 6)- (10) in Section 3.1, while its mathematical derivation and thermodynamic basis are discussed in Appendix S1.…”

“…It is also proved that if the driving force constraints are set between the liquid and vapor outlet streams for module outlet streams, a mass/heat exchange module is equivalent to a distillation tray assuming liquid-vapor phase (non) equilibrium. Although these modeling considerations introduce thermodynamic approximations compared to rigorous tray-by-tray modeling, more advantages are offered at this phenomena-based design stage to rapidly screen the design space and to evaluate the potential performance improvements by enabling: (a) compact physicsbased representation for general reaction and/or separation systems with conventional type of mass/heat transfer (including but not limited to extractive [21] (b) identification of performance limits (e.g., cost, energy consumption) regardless the use of intensified/conventional units, [22] and (c) compact model size and reduced computational load [23] .…”

Towards a Software Prototype for Synthesis of Operable Process Intensification Systems

“…A. ) which is an equilibrium limited reaction adapted from [14]. At atmospheric pressure, the reaction takes place in the liquid phase, and can be described by ideal vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE).…”

“…To exchange information between the UI and the synthesis suite, Python Application Programming Interface (API) is used. More detail on GMF modular representation and model formulation can be found in [14].…”

Process intensification connects scales and disciplines towards sustainability

“…There are, however, fewer reviews on PI as an innovative approach to chemical engineering design in general, each focusing on different aspects of it. These include PI principles, [ 11 ] classification of PI equipment and methods, [ 7 ] overview of PI methods, [ 43 ] the relationship between PI and process system engineering (PSE) and process control, [ 44 ] systematic approaches to PI, [ 45 ] the relationship between PI and materials, [ 46 ] and alternative energy sources as a PI approach. [ 47 ] This review concerns PI as an innovative concept of chemical engineering, and rather than focusing on specific PI equipment or methods, it attempts to identify the technological trends in the literature and defines the multidisciplinary links among those.…”